 "Photo: Callie Richmond")
The Texas immigration debate swept up higher education Thursday during a House Committee on State Affairs public hearing.
The panel heard public testimony on a number of bills that would repeal a 2001 law that allows illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates. Proponents of the bill maintained that the law encourages illegal immigration while opponents argued that a repeal would unfairly punish those who were brought to the country by their parents as children.
A large number of witnesses filled the hearing room and spilled into an overflow room as both legislators and the public debated the merit of the law late into the night.
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, whose bill would deny in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants and require proof of citizenship to be eligible for the discounted rate, said the current law entices further illegal immigration and strains state resources.
"The bottom line is many, many, many of the citizens are saying 'Please stop,'" Riddle said while she debated with Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, and Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, for more than an hour on the topic.
Many illegal immigrants who are eligible for the tuition discount under the bill did not have a choice in their citizenship status because of the decision their parents made to immigrate illegally, Anchia said.
Farrar said obtaining citizenship after immigrating illegally was nearly impossible and that requiring illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition would prevent them from attending college.
During the 77th Legislature, House Bill 1403 by Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, was signed into law. The law requires an illegal immigrant to live in Texas for a minimum of three years after they graduate from high school or receive the equivalent of a high school diploma in the state before they are eligible for the discounted rate.
In the fall of 2006, 144 illegal immigrant students who qualified for in-state rates enrolled in the University of Texas. In total 11,139 illegal immigrant students state-wide have enrolled in higher education institutions, according to statistics from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board presented during the hearing.
Hector Luna, a marketing and business major enrolled in Collin County Community College, immigrated from Mexico with his parents when he was 13 years old, he said.
"I'm the first one in my family on both sides of my family to go to college," Luna said. "I'm trying to live the American dream."
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